President Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline for a U.S. ban on the popular video-sharing platform TikTok, granting its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, an additional 90 days to finalize a deal that satisfies national security concerns. This marks the third such delay since Congress passed legislation requiring TikTok to either divest from Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States.
The latest extension, formalized through an executive order signed by Trump on June 19, pushes the deadline to September 17. The ban was originally enacted into law by former President Joe Biden as part of a bipartisan effort to address data privacy risks and potential foreign surveillance. The law was upheld by the Supreme Court, giving the federal government legal grounds to enforce it. However, since returning to office, Trump has directed the Department of Justice not to implement the ban while negotiations continue.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision, stating that the administration believes the president has the legal authority to pause enforcement.
“The political reasoning for this, of course, is because the president made a promise to keep TikTok on,” Leavitt said. “He also wants to protect Americans’ data and privacy concerns on this app, and he believes we can do both things at the same time.”
Trump had previously tasked Vice President JD Vance and then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz with brokering a deal that would prevent Chinese government access to American user data. Talks reportedly made significant progress in April but stalled amid escalating trade tensions, particularly after Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports.
While trade relations between the U.S. and China have since eased, a final agreement regarding TikTok remains elusive. It is unclear whether the issue was addressed during a recent phone call between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 5. However, Trump expressed optimism in comments to the press:
“We probably have to get China approval. I think we’ll get it,” he said on June 17. “I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”
TikTok currently boasts more than 135 million users in the United States, primarily among younger demographics. Despite national security concerns, Trump downplayed fears of Chinese surveillance.
“If China is going to get information about young kids, I don’t know. To be honest with you, I think we have bigger problems than that,” he told reporters.
The Chinese government, meanwhile, has denied any involvement in the operations of ByteDance or any intent to misuse user data. In a statement on June 19, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu reiterated that China will manage its business entities in accordance with domestic laws and expects the U.S. to provide a fair and nondiscriminatory business environment.
As the new deadline looms, the future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain. Trump has not ruled out a fourth extension, stating only that he would “probably” delay the ban again if needed to allow time for a final agreement.
